Há mais coisas no céu

by John Brunner, António Porto (Translator)

Cover artist: A. Pedro

A revised version of THE ASTRONAUTS MUST NOT LAND (1963). It isn't every day that the impossible happens. But when it does, and you're a witness, you have to start looking for answers. The authorities won't talk. So you decide to find out for yourself. That's what Drummond did. And when he found out. it changed the universe!

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

214 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

John Brunner was born in Preston Crowmarsh, near Wallingford in Oxfordshire, and went to school at St Andrew's Prep School, Pangbourne, then to Cheltenham College. He wrote his first novel, Galactic Storm, at 17, and published it under the pen-name Gill Hunt, but he did not start writing full-time until 1958. He served as an officer in the Royal Air Force from 1953 to 1955, and married Marjorie Rosamond Sauer on 12 July 1958

At the beginning of his writing career Brunner wrote conventional space opera pulp science fiction. Brunner later began to experiment with the novel form. His 1968 novel "Stand on Zanzibar" exploits the fragmented organizational style John Dos Passos invented for his USA trilogy, but updates it in terms of the theory of media popularised by Marshall McLuhan.

"The Jagged Orbit" (1969) is set in a United States dominated by weapons proliferation and interracial violence, and has 100 numbered chapters varying in length from a single syllable to several pages in length. "The Sheep Look Up" (1972) depicts ecological catastrophe in America. Brunner is credited with coining the term "worm" and predicting the emergence of computer viruses in his 1975 novel "The Shockwave Rider", in which he used the term to describe software which reproduces itself across a computer network. Together with "Stand on Zanzibar", these novels have been called the "Club of Rome Quartet", named after the Club of Rome whose 1972 report The Limits to Growth warned of the dire effects of overpopulation.

Brunner's pen names include K. H. Brunner, Gill Hunt, John Loxmith, Trevor Staines, Ellis Quick, Henry Crosstrees Jr., and Keith Woodcott.
In addition to his fiction, Brunner wrote poetry and many unpaid articles in a variety of publications, particularly fanzines, but also 13 letters to the New Scientist and an article about the educational relevance of science fiction in Physics Education. Brunner was an active member of the organisation Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and wrote the words to "The H-Bomb's Thunder", which was sung on the Aldermaston Marches.

Brunner had an uneasy relationship with British new wave writers, who often considered him too American in his settings and themes. He attempted to shift to a more mainstream readership in the early 1980s, without success. Before his death, most of his books had fallen out of print. Brunner accused publishers of a conspiracy against him, although he was difficult to deal with (his wife had handled his publishing relations before she died).[2]

Brunner's health began to decline in the 1980s and worsened with the death of his wife in 1986. He remarried, to Li Yi Tan, on 27 September 1991. He died of a heart attack in Glasgow on 25 August 1995, while attending the World Science Fiction Convention there


aka
K H Brunner, Henry Crosstrees Jr, Gill Hunt (with Dennis Hughes and E C Tubb), John Loxmith, Trevor Staines, Keith Woodcott

Winner of the ESFS Awards in 1980 as "Best Author" and 1n 1984 as "Novelist"..

Reviews

[Matthew Reads Junk · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only picked this up because the author was mentioned inAmong Others .
Thought it might be interesting classic sci-fi. It's not.
It's amazing how limited the author's imagination was and how much he got wrong. We can build a hyperspace star ship but people still use pay phones, read newspapers, and smoke? No instant communication.

The whole story is dull with nothing happening, even at the end of the book. The aliens show up, say hello, good luck, and then leave. The end.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another oddity. Two hundred pages of "unexplained phenomena!!" And then in the last ten, pretty much the biggest bombshell imaginable, then the deus ex machina says "laters" and we grapple with what would be absolutely the largest, most shattering discovery in human history.

The pacing is a little weird, is what I'm saying.

Brunner favorite theme of misogyny returns, and the whole book has a lot of ideas/loose ends that don't resolve. Compulsively readable, ultimately the sort of book I imagine the author writing and literally forgetting about.

[Maria Beltrami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Variazione sul tema dell'origine aliena dell'uomo, in questo caso visto come angelo caduto e mandato in questo universo a purgare le sue colpe.
L'invenzione dei voli a velocità extraluce farà capire alle altre grandi razze dell'universo che l'umanità è tornata sulla scena, e resta da capire se ha imparato dai suoi errori eppure no.
Titolo italiano sparato a caso, nella migliore tradizione Urania.

[Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a really god Brunner novel. Astronauts coming back from a mission and the people on Earth keep seeing strange giant monsters in the distance. The crew are in some sort of odd state and they need to figure out the reason behind it all.

[Sebastian Sajda · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was a semi-interesting idea in there... somewhere.

[Leif · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typically, I like this author's plots. This was another fun one with all the trimmings* and even a hint of the weird.

*Spaceships, Monsters, Local Spatial Impossibility

[David Kidd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of its age but the core concept of hyperspace and its reality was very cool.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first interstellar space ship returns from hyperspace to our solar system, but the crew aren't brought back to Earth, and the space agency is keeping very, very quiet. Meanwhile, people are spotting the ship's crew walking around various cities, and seeing giant monsters in the sky. An ace science reporter has to get to the bottom of it.

In my opinion, Brunner is one of the consistently under-rated authors of the classic science fiction era. He always has an interesting tale, and characters with more depth than many of his contemporaries (I'm thinking of Asimov, Niven, Clarke, etc.). I was discussing this with a colleague recently, and we were mystified that he doesn't seem to have the name recognition of those others.

Regardless of that, once again Brunner did not disappoint. This book is a fun ride. The set up is great, parts are creepy as heck, and the ending was not what I expected. The finale did feel quite rushed, however; I wish the author had taken another 30 or 40 pages to stretch it out. It also made me a little sad, because 40 years ago this story was written with a major plot point revolving around journalistic integrity, and how the general public trusts and respects reporters; there's no way I could see that being anything other than ironic today. Nevertheless, I'm really glad I read it, because it reminded me to search for more Brunner titles whenever I hit the used bookstores.

[John Xero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars (gotta have that half star), but intriguing and enjoyable enough to hover at the high end.

Ultimately the book is a first encounter type set-up, but far from an 'ordinary' one. There are several mysteries thrown out early on - monsters appearing in the sky, the protagonist, Drummond, seeing his brother on Earth when he hasn't yet returned from space - and the characters go on to explore these mysteries.

There is a romantic sub plot although, again, not a usual one. It's a good set-up, the characters already in something of a relationship, that develops as the book goes on, but it definitely takes second place to the main plot, and I think I would have like to have seen a little more of it.

The resolution is almost more of a philosophical/ conceptual one than anything else, something I quite liked, but which won't be to everyone's taste.

It's of its time, undeniably, with outdated technology and air travel you can use as freely as bus transport - just buy a ticket and hop on, but that doesn't harm the story in any fashion. If anything it adds a kind of retro charm.

Would I recommend it? Yes, if you happen across a copy, then give it a go. I wouldn't say it was worth hunting down, but if you see it, it's certainly an interesting read.

[Alien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Star reporter David Drummond sees his brother in a street in Quito. That is not possible because he is an astronaut traveling on the first faster-than-light space ship. Then strange light phenomena are observed all over the globe, reminiscent of monsters.

This novel is jauntily written and pulled me in quickly. It presents some intriguing mysteries and made me curious about what is going on. Then it slows down a bit but kept me interested. Everything is focused on the big reveal at the end. Unfortunately this turned out to be not very satisfying. I felt it was rushed and stayed unconvincing. Still, the book was a quick and pleasant read which amouts to 3.5/5

[L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Brunner is an ideas writer. And while this novel is a little lighter -- and somewhat sillier -- than other of his books I've read, the idea behind it is worth considering. Focusing on the return of a spaceflight that had experimented with a new kind of drive that drew on parallel planes (or hyperspace), Brunner's book considers what might happen if such an experiment gently rent the space between the planes. The book takes some time gearing up to the big a-ha and accelerates even faster to the end, but the spiritual/philosophical overtones aren't heavy handed. A quick read, and fun.

[Maurice X Alvarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, although I can see why some might not. I liked the concept that we had been outcast from the "real" universe for some great offense and were serving out our sentence in this pocket universe. Characters were interesting as their cultures played off each other.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

First book by him I ever read... way back in 1976. Interesting concept of Alien angels.